WHEELS OF INDUSTRY.
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Military Trials of_71-tonners.
The preliminary operations commenced on May 28th in connection with the trials of 7-i-ton lorries which have been organized by the French military authorities and which will continue in the 'Versailles and Satory districts until July 4th next, finishing up with a road trial from Paris to Boulogne-sur-Mer and back. The following five concerns are taking part in the trials, each being represented by two ordinary petrol lorries and two vehicles equipped with producer-gas plants :—Berliet, Dewald, Renault, S.O.M.U.A. and Willeme.
The Berliet producer-gas vehicles will be equipped with the Imber producer using wood as fuel. At the time of writing it is not known what type of generator will be used on the Deweld vehicles. The Renaults will be equipped with the chassis maker's own design of producer, whilst the S.O.M.U.A. and Willeme vehicles will use the Rex generator, already widely adopted in France.
The petrol vehicles are to be fitted with carburetters capable of rustling on petrol, benzole or a fifty-fifty mixture of alcohol and petrol, certain days being allotted when only one or other of these three fuels may be used.
Wallasey Wants More Buses.
The tramways and motorbus committee of the Wallasey Corporation has decided to purchase immediately 12 new motorbuses. At present there are 25 buses in service. More motorbuses mean that new routes will definitely be opened, but it is extremely improbable that the Seabank Road experiment of trams versus buses will be effected this year.
The popularity of the motorbuses in Wallasey was assured from the beginning of the services in 1925 and the number of passengers carried increased from 811,135 in that year to over a million in 1926. More than 1,800,000 passengers were carried during last year. and there was a surplus of about £9,000 on the year's working.
Venue of Liverpool's Parade.
We are asked to point out that the ninth annual Liverpool commercial motor parade organized by the Liverpool-area committee of the Commercial Motor 'Users' Association will not take place at Queen's Drive as was mentioned in our issue for last week, but at Mather Avenbe. This venue offers nmeh greater accommodation for the parking of vehicles. Up to May 30th 85 petrol machines and 12 steam wagons had been entered for the competitions and 208 for the route parade.
Guy Six-wheelers in Demand.
Guy Motors, Ltd., Fallings Park, Wolverhampton, has received .a number of important orders recently for sixwheeled vehicles, one of the largest having been obtained from the Liverpool Corporation, which is buying 25 single
deck buses of this kind. This is the second repeat order which this authority has placed for Guy six-wheelers.
The order just placed by the Oldham Corporatiori is the seventh repeat and is for eight Guy six-wheeled doubledeckers. Another repeat order—the fifth—has been received by the company from the War Office, which has contracted for eight subsidy-type 3-5-ton six-wheelers. Other orders which the company has received for six-wheeled vehicles have come from the Northampton Corporation, whigh has placed an order for single-deck buses, Messrs. John Grocock, of Sheffield, the Pressed Steel Co. of Great Britain, Ltd., and N. Sluyter, of Soest, Holland.
The L.t.C.'s British Ambulances.
Questions as to the number of ambulances and their origin were asked at a meeting of the London County Council when it was stated that there were 20 machines, all of which were of British manufacture.
A Glasgow Bus Resignation.
It has recently been announced. that Mr. George Stewart, of Blantyre, has resigned his position as chairman of the Glasgow General Omnibus and Motor Services, Ltd. It would appear that differences of opinion arose with his colleagues on the board of directors on matters of policy. The company, which began the operation of bus services in August, 1926, now operates over a num ber of routes. It has an authorized capital of £300,000, £251,875 of which is, paid up.
Haulage Representative Required.
A haulage contractor with headquarters in Kent requires a reliable man to represent him in the London area. He will be required to obtain return loads to Kent and any other haulage business possible, whether long-distance or otherwise, and must be in a position to commence duties immediately. Applications addressed "Haulage Representative," care of the Editor, will be forwarded.
By a slip a redundant letter " r " became inserted in the name Quicktho in our description in last week's issue of the new bus bodies now beingbuilt by the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., in which the Quicktho window.,, regulators are now employed. When we were examining the -window. we noted their ease of operation, A Big American Merger.
It was officially stated on Wednesday of last week that Mr. Clarence Dillon, senior partner of the New York banking concern of Dillon, Read and Co.,, curl Mr. E. G. Wilmer, president of Dodge Brothers, are joining the board of the Chrysler Motor Car Co. which, as announced the previous day, is acquiring the entire assets of Dodge Brothers. The Dodge concern owns the entire capital etock of Grahara Brothers. which markets a useful range of com
mercial motor vehicles. It is understood that Mr. Dillon, whose concern controls Dodge Brothers through ownership of all the "B" shares, and Mr. Chrysler, head of the Chrysler Corporation, were the persons chiefly responsible for the merger.
It is stated that both companies" will continue to operate as separate entities under the new unified control, but the production programme of each company will undergo considerable simplification.
The merger has brought into being a combine which, next to General Motors and the Ford Co., will be the largest motorcar manufacturing enterprise in the world, with total assets in the region of £47,000.000.
Leicester's Buses and Street Congestion.
Leicester Watch Committee reports that it has considered the congestion which had arisen in connection with bus traffic in various parts of the city. It dealt at first with the congestion at the Old Cross. (Belgrave Gate) and Jubilee Road, which, from a census, showed that the buses running front these two starting -places were greatly in excess of the requirements of the public and that a limitation on the number of vehicles in use was necessary. The time schedules of these services and of others from the various different starting places in the city have been exhaustively considered and remodelled. All the buses have been submitted to a thorough examination, and have only been licensed on a report being considered satisfactory.
The committee has considered the question of overcrowding in buses, and decided to allow passengers to be carried in excess of those for whom seating accommodation is available in the same Proportion as now exists in corporation buses, this being based on the gangway area. It has also considered the question of third-party risks, and now requires that all owners of vehicles be covered in this respect.
The committee found during its investigations that there was a considerable amount of evasion of the regulations taking places and it has been compelled to refuse the renewal of some licences on various grounds and to adopt the system of granting licences for a period of three months only with automatic renewal at the end of that period if reports are satisfactory.
Handling a German Refuse Collector.
We learn that the Schmidt and Melmer refuse-collecting system is now being handled in this country by the Eagle Engineering Co., Ltd., of Warwick. This system was described in our issue dated February 28th, 1928.
Official Orders for April.
Relatively few orders for motor vehicles were given out by Government Departments during last April. The G.P.O. authorities placed an order for chassis with Morris Motors (1926), Ltd., and others for motor bodies with Duple Bodies and Motors, Ltd., Fry Bros., Ltd., and W. H. Perry, Ltd. The Crown Agents for the Colonies Ordered a number of chassis from Dennis Bros., Ltd., and placed an order for lorries with the Albion Motor Car Co., Ltd., and others for motor road rollers with Barford and Perkins, Ltd., and Aveling and Porter, Ltd., whilst tractors are being bought from Clayton and Shuttleworth, Ltd.
Good Display of Commercial Motors at the Ulster Show.
There was a splendid display of commercial motor vehicles at the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society's Show, which was Tecently held in Belfast, and, in order to accommodate them, a complete section of the trade-exhibits side of the show was devoted to motor concerns. Delivery vans, lorries and buses predominated, and much interest was taken in the exhibits by visitors both from town and country.
Whilst the ye hides on show were all excellent ex
amples in the various classes front a technical point of view, they included little of a novel nature. Some of the bodywork on the buses, however, was of a very high standard, but, as distinct from. the Dublin Show, which we dealt with a few weeks ago, little work by local coachbuilders was in evidence.
One of the most interesting stands was that of T. J. Russell, Ltd., which showed a number of Graham Bros.' chassis. On one ofthese was a wellequipped 24-seater bus body. by• Messrs. Strachan and Brown. On the same stand were delivery vans and other commercial vehicles. Two exhibitors,
Messrs. Spence and Johnston and J. E. Colter, Ltd., showed Various Ford products, 30-cwt. lorries and vans being the principal types exhibited. The 'Associated Daimler Co., Ltd., had on view a 3-i-ton if at platform lorry and a 5-tonner of the same type. The company also showed a single-deck bus. Rea buses were shown by Messrs. John Hill and a number of Chevrolet lorries and vans by the Clarence Engineering Co. Dennis, Leylaud, Overland and International Harvester vehicles were also displayed.
Bus Company's Increased Capital.
At a recent meeting of the United Counties Omnibus and Road Transport Co., Ltd., the scheme for increasing the company's capital by the creation of an additional 50,000 shares of each was approved by the share
holders. Mr. John O'Connor, E.G., the chairman, said that the shares would be allotted in the following proportions :— Two 7 per cent, cumulative preference shares for each three ordinary shares and one 7 per cent, cumulative preference share for each three 8 per cent. preference shares, whilst shareholders could apply for additional shares.
The Longest Concrete Roadway, A 105-mile con tinuons stretch of concrete road has recently been laid in Alabama, U.S.A. The 135-mile section on the Minnesota higEway was previously the longest in the world.
A New Use for the Six-wheeler.
We learn that arrangements are being made for the clearing of considerable tracts of bush land in British East ••• Africa by the employment of a specially equipped Guy six-wheeled vehicle. As will be seen from the accompanying illustrations, the equipment which is used for clearing a way through the • heavy undergrowth' takes the form of a V-shaped structure which projects from the front of the machine, whilst there is a winch gear at the rear which is used for pulling down trees too large to be dealt with by this apparatus. Secret tests have been carried out with the machine, and we are informed that these have proved satisfactory, whilst a demonstration was recently given at the Guy works at Wolverhampton before a representative from Tanganyika, who is engaged in clearing a tract of bush which is infected with the tsetse fly, a tropical pest which plays considerable havoc with cattle.
Railways versus Buses in Austria.
Like the English railways, the Austrian railways are beginning to feel the effects of the competition of motorbus services which are being rapidly developed throughout the country. The Austrian post office is already operating such lines over 180 different routes, covering some 3,600 mile's. How serious this competition is may be judged from the fact that the total length of the whole Austrian State Railway system is only just over 4.000 miles. During last month (May) the post office issued an
official timetable of all its bus services throughout the country, showing routes, &stances, tariffs, etc.
In addition to the post office services others are being started at many provinciacentres by private enterprise. At Wiener Neustadt, for instance, 110 fewer than 60 buses are running daily to places in the Burgenland and the surrounding country.
As the railway administration is doing its utmost to prevent,the granting of traffic concessions to these private lines, the owners have established a trade organization which has received official sanction. The first step of this organization will be the establishment of a suitable central motorbus station in Vienna.
Goodyear's New Depots.
In order to cope with its increasing business the Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Co. (Cr. Britain, 1927), Ltd„ has opened a chain of depots to supplement its existing branches in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin. These new depots are located at 10-12, Holloway Head, Birmingham ; 18,
Tavistock Road, Plymouth; 57, Prince Street, Bristol; 11, Bighorn Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne; 10, Meadow Lane, Leeds; 12, Rose Street, Edinburgh; and 11, Exchange Street, Aberdeen.
Complete stocks of Goodyear tyres, tubes and accessories will always be available at these depots to meet the demands of the trade. The new Goodyear factory at Wolverhampton is now in full production and is working day and night.
On Postal Work in the Swiss Alps.
"On Swiss Alpine Roads" is the title of an extremely attractive booklet which has just been issued from the workth of the Sanrer Co. at Arbon, Switzerland. It is a particularly wellproduced publication and, although its ostensible object is to direct attention to the remarkable work which is being pe.rformed by the fleet of Saurer vehicles run by the Federal postal authorities,
the story which is told makes most interesting reading. What is more, its .value is increased by the fact that the text matter is printed in both French and English, whilst the illustrations— both photographic and colour reproductions—are of a high Quality and serve to give a good impression of the difficult conditions tinder which the vehicles operate and of the scenic charms of the areas traversed. The Saurers are used to maintain regular mail and passenger services and they have to negotiate many tortuous Alpine passes.
The Sourer Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd., 21, Augustus Street, Albany Street, London, N.W.1, is prepared to dispatch a copy of the booklet free of charge to any reader of this journal.
Albion Passenger-vehicle Orders.
Amongst the latest orders which have been received by the Albion Motor Car Co.. Ltd., far passenger vehicles is onefrom 0. and C. Holdsworth, Ltd., the proprietor of the Hebble Motorbus Services, of Halifax, this being for seven 32-seater forward-control-type motorbus chassis. The company is also building three 32-seater buses on its 30-60 h.p. forward-control bus chassis for Messrs. H. M. S. Catherwood, of Belfast, who are operators in Northern Ireland. Bus Results at Barrow.
The Barrow 'Corporation motorbus Cervices show a lass on the past year's working of 1235, compared with a deficit of 1389 for the previous year and 1395 for the year 1925-26. The receipts from the services were 110,903 and the working costs 19,114, but loan charges
Westminster City Council has decided to experiment with the Schmidt and Meitner system of house-refuse collection, in which a body of the type illustrated is employed. Special bins are used and the lids are mechanically opened and closed as the refuse is precipitated into the wagon body, thus making the process entirely dustless.
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amount to /2,024, and account for the deficit. The accumulated deficiency on the motorbuses on March 31st last was /1,011. Towards this a sum of 1477 has been included in the consolidated rate for the current year, leaving 1534 still to be provided for. The total capital expenditure on the buses is 112,873. There is a proposal to purchase additional buses to augment tha present services.
Buyers of Thornycrofts.
Fifteen different concerns in various parts of the country have recently placed repeat orders for Thornyeroft commercial vehicles of various types. One of the most important is that from the War Office, which is for 12 2-3-ton subsidy-type six-wheeled chassis. Quite a nurriber of the orders is for 2-tanners. In addition the company has received first orders from further important users, whilst it has in course of construction many chassis for shipment overseas, these including 16 claassis for use in Australia and 13 for South Africa.
Encouraging Careful Driving.
Most of the important business houses using commercial motor vehicles make a point of encouraging their drivers to practise the tenets of " safety first." This is done in a variety of ways, and one scheme which is quite successful is that under which a driver secures some monetary reward if he does a year's work without the vehicle in his charge being involved in an accident. Drage's, Ltd., High Holborn, London, for instance, which has a number of vehicles running to different parts of the country, offers to every driver an inscribed silver medal and a 15 note if he has an unblemished record of driving throughout the year. Many, of the company's drivers were recently the recipients of these gifts.
Agents Wanted.
Messrs. Hughes and Co., Pownall Street, Hazel Grove, Stockport, the patentee and sole manufacturer of the Hughes patent detachable radiator tubes, is extending its business premises and is open to appoint agents in a number of towns. A New Synthetic Motor Fuel.
important experiments are being conducted in Germany with a new synthetic motor fuel, manufactured from waste coke-oven gases, by the Ruhr Chemicals Corporation, a company recently formed by 28 of the leading coal and steel interests of the Ruhr Valley. The new fuel is methane gas, and is carried in compressed form in light steel tanks, it is understood that results obtained with it have been very satisfactory.
The methane used is a by-product in the manufacture of synthetic nitrate fertilizers from coke-oven gas, which is the main business of the Ruhr Chemicals Corporation. Production of both is on an extremely cheap basis, as the associated concerns have an annual surplus of approximately 9,000 million cubic metres of coke-oven gas on which to draw for raw material, all of which at present constitutes a dead loss. The processes used are the Casale and ConcordiaLinde processes, of which the new company possesses a monopoly in Germany.
Interesting Albion Orders.
Amongst the recent orders which have been received by the Albion Motor Car Co., Ltd., of Scotstoun, Glasgow, is one, in the nature of a repeat, for nine 30-45 h.p. 3-4-ton W.D.-type, sixwheelers for the War Office, whilst another for a vehicle of this pattern has been received from the Maharajah of Gwalior. The company is also executing an order for some special sixwheelers, with the driver in a forward position, for the Government of India.
New Arterial Roads in Kent.
Kent County Council reports that the council has already agreed to take over three of the arterial roads in Kent constructed by the Ministry of Transport. Three other sections (Watling Street, Sidcup by-pass and the Farnborough by-pass) are in course of completion and the Ministry urges that these now be taken over by the council as Class 1 roads. The Ministry has allocated a fund of 1110,000 to the Watling Street and Sidcup by-pass, out of which about £22,000 has been expended in reconstruction work and the reparation of slips and settlements on embankments. The Bexley Heath by-pass and the Cray Hill-Orpington by-pass are practically completed, the carriageways being constructed in concrete. The latter road cannot at present be used throughout its full length for through traffic until a new railway bridge now being built by the Ministry is completed. The Ministry has given an undertaking to bear the full cost of covering the concrete surfaces with asphalt if and when this becomes necessary.
Royal Body Progress. .
At a meeting of the Royal Body Corporation (1928), Ltd., which Was recently held, Mr. H. Hamilton Hoyer,. who presided, made it clear that the company was making useful progress. As many of our readers will know, the company has for a short time past undertaken the construction of various types of parlour coach and bus, and many of them have been mounted on commercial-vehicle chassis of established makes. It is interesting to learn, therefore, that the directors have made ar-e rangemeuts for exploiting this market to a farther extent. The present company took over the business from August 1st, 1927, and the turnover from that date to the end of April, 1928, showed a marked increase over that for the preceding comparable period.
Samples of a Hose Clip Available.
We recently had occasion for referring to the constructional features of the Jubilee hose clip, and we are new able to state that the manufacturer, L. Robinson and Co., of London Chambers, Gillingham, Kent, is prepared to send a free sample clip to any reader of The Commercial Motor who mentions this paper when writing. The Jubilee hose clip has already received high praise from many commercial-vehicle users, who find it a most effective device.
Personal Pars.
Mr. Noel Martin, who WAN until recently sales director of Chrysler Motors, Ltd., has joined the staff of Bean Cars, Ltd., to take entire charge of the company's sales organization. Mr. Martin will have a seat on the board as sales director and he will be stationed at Tipton.
We learn that Mr. H. W. Atkins has resigned his position with Morris Commercial Cars, Ltd., and has taken up an important post in London on the advertising side.
U.A.S. Operating Long-distance Services.
Another of the large motorbus companies to enter into the long-distance sphere of operations is the United Automobile Services, Ltd., which has in augurated two routes, each over 100 miles single journey from Newcastle. One of these is to Edinburgh, via Alnwick, Berwick and Dunbar, a route which is already served. Three journeys are being 'made on the route in each direction daily. • For the benefit of many Tyneside holidaymakers, who each summer visit Scarborough, the company has also instituted an express coach service to that resort by way of Durham, Stock ton and Whitby. . .
Thefl fares on the to routes are as follow :—Edinburgh: single 10s. 6d., return 17s. 6d.; Scarborough: single Ss. 5d., return 14s.
Long-distance services to Scarborough.
At a recent meeting of the Scarborough Corporation sanction was given in respect of four proposed new longdistance services to the town. These are as follow :—Blackpool to Scarborough, by the Coast-to-Coast Motor Services, of Barnsley; Leeds to Scarborough and Selby to Scarborough, by the West Yorkshire Road Car Co., Ltd.•' and Newcastle to Scarborough and Hull, via Sunderland, by a Tyneside owner.
The Road Motor's Merits for Milk Transport.
Those of our readers who have any knowledge of the subject of the transport of milk will be ready to admit that a considerable amount of labour is entailed in loading and unloading churns of milk on the railways. In its journey from the farmyard to the retailer the milk is often loaded and unloaded at least three times, whilst the difficulty of handling it is made greater by the fact that the station platforms are sometimes elevated, thus entailing the use of lifts. Of late years, experience has shown that the use of road motors overcomes many of these difficulties.
The average medium-capacfty commercial vehicle is capable of carrying a large number of churns in a single lead, particularly if the form of body construction shown in the accompanying illustrations be adopted. The vehicle which is illustrated is an Associated Daimler Model 418 3Ptonner, which has been supplied to a Birmingham concern through the chassis maker's local depot.
There are two interesting features associated with this body, one being the raised platform situated behind the driver's cab, which will accommodate eight churns, and the special tailboard which is carried mid-way between the ground and the level of the body platform. One of the pictures shows how the latter arrangement considerably facilitates the loading and unloading of the churns.
The bodywork of this particular vehicle was executed by W. J. Smith and B24
Son, Ltd., of West Bromwich. It will be noted that the vehicle is shod with pneumatic tyres, these being of 38-in. by 7-in. dimensions.
Beans with Left-hand Drive.
It will undoubtedly interest a number of users in countries where left-hand drive is the rule to learn that the Bean 30-cwt. commercial vehicle is now available with this form of control. Bean Cars, Ltd., has already received several orders from overseas for vehicles of this type.
Efforts to Secure Fuel Economy.
Ten thousand bus drivers employed by the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., have each just received a special typewritten appeal from Mr. G. J. Shave, the operating manager of the company, in which he asks them to economize in the use of petrol without jeopardizing the efficiency of the bus services. He points out that, in starting up the buses in the morning, about one pint of petrol is used per vehicle before it is running well enough to be put into service.
Experiments, he states, will be carried out in an endeavour to bring about this warming-up of the engines by other means, but if a saving of 50 per cent. of the fuel used in this connection can be brought about, it will represent an economy.of £30,000 a year to the company.
The men have also been asked to stop their engines when reaching th,e terminal points. It is estimated that the stormily,of engines for three minutes on the stands will mean a total saving of 400 gallons of petrol per day. for the entire fleet.
A Comprehensive Catalogue.
The 1928-1929 catalogue just issued by R. Cadisch and Sons, 5-6, Red Lion Square, London, W.C.1, runs to nearly 600 pages, and contains details of a most comprehensive range of tools, equipment and apparatus used in the motor industry. There are special sections for the private-car owner and the motorcyclist, but others deal with tools and garage equipment which should make special appeal to the commercialvehicle user and to those responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of business motors. We should mention that the book is for wholesale use only. Road Motor Services in South Africa.
According to a report just to hand from Johannesburg, considerable interest is being taken in transport circles in South Africa in the Parliamentary struggle between -the railways and roadtransport interests in England. The arguments advanced by the railway companies to the effect that they should be conceded ex1ended road-transport powers are much the same as those put forward by the Railway Administration in South Africa in an endeavour to have its present powers extended in connection with its road services.
A substantial development in opening up the rural districts by means of the motorbus is taking place in South Africa. At present there are 7,327 miles of route in operation and authorization has been given for an additional 1,650 miles, over which services will be operated when road improvements are completed and vehicles obtained. More than 900 miles of routes have been added to the service run by the Railways and Harbours Administration since 1927.
No Exemption for Refuse Collectors.
In reply to representations by the Tynemouth Corporation that electric vehicles used for refuse collection and other public purposes should not be taxed, the Minister of Transport has intimated that he cannot recommend legislative proposals on these lines.
Irish Passenger-service Statistics.
According to a return recently issued by the Statistics Board of the Department of Industry and Commerce, Lower Castle Yard (South), Dublin, the various passenger road motor vehicles in Saorstat Eireann covered a total mileage of 3,015,364 in the three months ended March last, during which 5,614,359 passengers were carried and the gross receipts amounted to £106,457.
Liverpool's Guy Six-wheelers.
In our issue dated May 22nd we had occasion to refer to the satisfaction which the Liverpool Corporation has derived from the operation of a big fleet of six-wheeled buses, and we should have mentioned that this enterprising authority has four Guy double-deckers of this type in use.